Interesting tidbit I ran across.

DISCLAIMER: If this is old news, I apologize.

As Dallas Maverick fans, naturally, we have a dislike for 3 things.

The San Antonio Spurs, the Miami Heat, and David Stern.

Oh wait, it is just me that still, to this day, cringes when he hears of the Heat. I hate the team. Despise Wade. My hate is strong. I don't care if "Wade wasn't the one making the calls."

However, as a writer, my pieces can no longer carry the 1-way bias towards that topic. Also, it has been 4 years. I am over it. However, I am not convinced there is still lingering hate between Stern and Cuban. So, here is the point of this post.

Actually, I'll make you wait. TO THE JUMP!

Okay. A lot of you guys might call me an idiot, and that Stern is a fair commissioner and has nothing against Dallas. I say otherwise.

Recently, I found out that when Shawn Marion was traded to the Dallas Mavericks, Jason Terry offered to give Marion #31, a very kind and mature gesture. This was on July 9, 2009.

This was denied by Stern and the NBA, as they fell to their rulebooks and claimed that Terry had missed the due date to declare for a number change. While I find this stupid, rules are rules... Right?

Wrong.

Lets fast forward a year. To July 9th, 2010. Exactly 1 year. The Miami Heat, LeBron James more specifically, announced that James will wear #6 for the Heat. However, Mario Chalmers is already wearing #6. Chalmers, the former Jayhawk, wanted to return to his old #15 he wore in college. So, being a good sport, he gave up his #6, and reverted to 15, giving LeBron James the #6 he wanted.

WOAH. What just happened? On the same date, one player was allowed to do something by League rules, and another was not. This is fair, right? To shoot down a quick defense of Stern's wrongdoing, this was not fair. People will defend the NBA and say LeBron James filed to wear #6 instead of 23(while still in Cleveland) before the number change deadline(Sometime in early March). However, he filed for number change within his old team. He was not TAKING #6 from another player. Changing an individual number is different from trading numbers with another player. If he gets #6 in the Heat as a Free-Agent, it is fair game. But since he got it from another player who was ALREADY wearing it, it is against League rules.

If you recall, Marion wore #31 for the Raptors. Marion was not allowed to RETAIN HIS OLD NUMBER, while LeBron was allowed to strip Chalmers of his current number.

It comes down to this.

To make LeBron happy, 2 NBA players had to wear numbers they did not wear the previous season. This was allowed. Marion wanted to keep his same number, and only Terry would switch, making 1 player, not 2, give up their numbers. This was not allowed.

Again, if this is old news, if someone has already caught this case of NBA Bullcrap, I am sorry. Also, I'm sorry for my bias against Stern and the Heat. That fire will never oust.

Now, as always,

GO MAVS!